Silent Valley National Park Palakkad District Kerala

Silent Valley National Park is located in the Nilgiri Hills, Palakkad District in Kerala, South India.he Silent Valley National Park is a unique preserve of natural rainforests. Within an area of 237. 52 Sq.km, it houses a rich mosaic of varied habitats. Out of these springs the amazing variety of life forms some of them endemic to the Western Ghats.The core of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is the Silent Valley National Park. Despite its name, the Silent Valley (the clamour of Cicadas is conspicuously absent here) is a rich storehouse of biodiversity. It is a true Garden of Eden for students of life sciences, professional scientists and field biologists.

Perhaps, nowhere else can one find such a representative collection of Western Ghats biodiversity - more than 1000 species of flowering plants which include about 110 species of orchids, more than 34 species of mammals, about 200 species of butterflies, 400 species of moths, 128 species of beetles of which 10 are new to science, about 150 species of birds including almost all the 16 endemic birds of southern India.

Birds include rare such as Indian black-crested baza, bonellis' hawk eagle, rufous bellied hawk eagle, shaheen falcon, short-eared owl, penisular scops owl, Ceylon frog mouth, great Indian hornbill, Niligiri laughing thrush, house martin, rufous bellied shortwing, Malay bittern etc. About 170 species have been recorded of which 31 are migrants.The fauna include a number of possible new species, a few very primitive animal groups, notably Ceacilians (limbless amphibians) and some rare small mammals such as the Peshwa's bat and heary-winged bat.Butterflis and moths are varied and plenty. There are more than 100 species of butterflies and 400 species of moths. Quite a few of them are extremely rare and endemic.

Best time to Visit Silent Valley - From November to February is the best time to visit Silent Valley National Park

How to get there Silent Valley National Park Nearest Railway Station - The nearest Railhead is Palakkad Junction (Olavacode) which is nearly 60 Kms away from the base camp of the National Park, Mukkali .Shornur junction , another railhead is about 75 Km from the base camp of the National Park, Mukkali.Coimbatore Junction in Tamil Nadu is also 45 km away from Mukkali, the base camp. Nearest Airport - Nearest Air Ports are Cochin (135KM), Coimbatore (55 KM) and Calicut (80KM).Approach By Road -From East: Palakkad (60 KM) and Coimbatore (45 KM)From South : Thrissur (115KM) and Shornur (75 KM)From North : Calicut (120KM)